A Registry for Animal AbusersAn Animal Rights Article from All-Creatures.org

FROM

One reason why sex offenders--and not bank robbers, drunk drivers, or
even murderers--are the target of legislation like Megan's Law is that they
are especially prone to recidivism. Animal abusers are too. Hoarders, for
example, are especially likely to offend again, and a law like Florez's
would provide the public with enough information to make it at least more
difficult for them to acquire animals again.

Not a week goes by without a story in the news of a case of animal abuse
or neglect somewhere in the country. This week the big story was in Great
Falls Montana, where John Carman appeared in court to face charges of
aggravated animal cruelty, stemming from leaving over 200 animals in a barn
without food or water. All of the animals starved to death. Unbelievably,
Carman is only facing a $2,500 fine, and a maximum of two years in jail.
While Montana is one of forty-six states with felony-level charges for
animal cruelty, it was recently ranked 35th in the nation by the Humane
Society of the United States for its animal protection laws, so the
likelihood that Carman will truly pay for his egregious crime is slim.

California, on the other hand, was ranked number one in the rankings
thanks to its laws protecting companion animals, horses, farmed animals and
wild animals from a variety of abuses.

California's animals may have even more protection soon, if a proposed
state law creating a criminal registry for animal abusers passes the state
legislature. Last week, state Senator Dean Florez (D-Shafter) proposed the
bill, which would be the first of its kind in the nation, and would require
anyone convicted of felony animal cruelty to register with the police, as
sex offenders are required to do under the Jacob Wetterling Crimes Against
Children and Sexually Violent Offender Act. In addition, the law would also
mirror Megan's Law, which requires states to notify the public of sex
offenders in their communities. SB 1277 would require that California not
only maintain a database of animal abusers, but that names, addresses, and
photos would be posted online. (Currently, there are a handful of private
websites that list such abusers' names, but none are comprehensive.) The
bill would be funded by a tax on pet food.

What would be the effects of such a law? According to a 2009 study,
Megan's Law has failed to deter sex crimes or reduce the victims of sex
crimes. Still, the public still supports both the sex offender registry as
well as the public notification requirement, and proponents claim that it
allows parents to better protect their children, since parents can find out
whether sex offenders live in their communities.

SB 1277 could be expected to function in a similar manner. While it would
likely not discourage people from abusing their animals, it would give the
public--in particular those who either sell or adopt out animals to the
public--a way to find out whether potential adopters are convicted animal
abusers. Currently, those of us who run animal rescue organizations have no
way to find out the background of potential adopters, and this could be one
more tool to help us to evaluate strangers.

Of course the proposed legislation will be heavily fought on the grounds
that it curtails the civil liberties of those who have broken the law and
who have "done their time." But unlike sex offenders, animal abusers--even
those convicted of felony abuse charges--rarely pay more than a small fine
and even more rarely serve any time in prison. In one recent case, Liz
Carlisle, a Petland employee who drowned two rabbits and then posted a photo
of herself--smiling gleefully--holding their soaking corpses on her Facebook
page, plead guilty to two counts of animal cruelty and was sentenced to
probation. At least with an animal abuser registry, not only could animal
adoption agencies find out about Carlisle's past, but future employers-like
Petland-could as well. This is a woman who should never be around animals
again, and unfortunately, there is currently no legal way to keep animals
safe from her.

Finally, one reason why sex offenders--and not bank robbers, drunk
drivers, or even murderers--are the target of legislation like Megan's Law
is that they are especially prone to recidivism. Animal abusers are too.
Hoarders, for example, are especially likely to offend again, and a law like
Florez's would provide the public with enough information to make it at
least more difficult for them to acquire animals again.

Fair Use Notice: This document, and others on our web site, may contain copyrighted
material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owners.
We believe that this not-for-profit, educational use on the Web constitutes a fair use
of the copyrighted material (as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law).
If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond fair use,
you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.